Katharine Hepburn is the indomitable star from the Golden Age of Hollywood. She won four Oscars throughout her career, an unbroken record. She appears repeatedly at the top of the list for the AFI for best all-time actresses.
She was a force to be reckoned with and took control of her career at a time when most stars were held captive by the studio system. Time and again, Katharine Hepburn gave it her all, and we have these memorable performances that hold their ground today.
Call Me Kate is a documentary created by Lorna Tucker, but what is remarkable about this documentary and makes it stand out compared to the numerous that have been produced about Ms. Hepburn, is this documentary is told by Katharine herself, through the discovery of numerous audiotapes that had previously been unpublished. It is genuinely satisfying to hear Katharine Hepburn talk about her life, knowing that it comes from her mouth and is pretty revealing.
The career of Katharine Hepburn is something of dreams, starting in the Golden Age, making classics like Morning Glory, Alice Adams, Bringing Up Baby, Little Women, Stage Door, and Mary of Scotland.
Maintaining a solid career throughout the 1940s and 1950s, with performances in The Philadelphia Story. Then teaming with Spencer Tracey to make classics like Woman of the Year, Keeper of the Flame, Without Love, The Sea of Grass, and Adam’s Rib, to name a few.
Moving into the late 1950s and early 1960s saw Hepburn move from strength to strength, churning out performances in Suddenly Last Summer, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and The Lion in Winter, all standout performances that should be studied by anyone who has a passion for film.
Then came the 1970s, and the work continued when, time and again, the work started to dry up for other actresses of the same generation. Not for Kate, the roles continued with The Trojan Women, A Delicate Balance, The Glass Menagerie, Love Among the Ruins, and On Golden Pond, earning Hepburn her fourth Oscar win for best performance in a lead role.
Katharine Hepburn also worked with the best in the industry when it came to film directors, including the likes of George Cukor, Dorothy Arzner, Howard Hawks, George Stevens, Vincente Minnelli, Frank Capra, and John Huston, to name a few.
There isn’t a generation that hasn’t seen or heard of Katharine Hepburn, a persona larger than life and a no-nonsense personality to match. She was a true force of nature and not easily forgotten.
Call Me Kate presents the human side of Katharine Hepburn. In an era when publicity machines created a mystic about their star, the excellent film studio MGM also built this illusion about Katharine Hepburn.
But this documentary unravels the illusion and presents a true story of the life of Katharine Hepburn from childhood, what drove her into acting, and openly talks about many aspects of her very private and guarded life, including her one-time love, Spencer Tracey.
A documentary for any fan of this uniquely talented and one-of-a-kind woman.
Call Me Kate is available to stream on Netflix.